Country Canada Constituted January 1, 2006 Postal code(s) J0T 1R0 Area 175.5 km² Province Québec Area code 819 | Settled 1866 Time zone EST (UTC−5) Highways No major routes Population 1,053 (2011) Local time Friday 12:53 AM | |
 | ||
Weather -11°C, Wind E at 0 km/h, 72% Humidity RCMs Laurentides, Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality | ||
La Macaza is a municipality and village in the province of Quebec, Canada. The village is located in the Laurentian Mountains, in the Laurentian region, in Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality. Its population was 1053 in the Canada 2011 Census.
Contents
Map of La Macaza, QC, Canada
It is home to the La Macaza – Mont Tremblant International Airport that serves the region. A medium security federal penitentiary is located next to the airport.
There is a covered bridge that runs over the Macaza River, built in 1904, and is an international tourist attraction. There are many lakes and beaches in the municipality.
According to the Geographic Names of the Province of Quebec (1921), "Macaza is the name of a native chief from the region", possibly the name of an old Amerindian who camped on the shores of Lake Macaza.
History
Although indigenous peoples had lived in the area, the first European settlers arrived circa 1866. In 1904, La Macaza was established when the parish of Notre-Dame-du-Divin-Pasteur (Our Lady of Divine Shepherd) was founded. In 1930, the municipality was formed when its territory was detached from the municipality of Marchand (now part of Rivière-Rouge).
It was first a farming community and later on its inhabitants worked mostly in logging, but today La Macaza receives a flood of vacationers each year.
On December 18, 2002, La Macaza was merged into the new town of Rivière-Rouge when the Québec government forced certain province-wide mergers that were alleged to save citizens money. In 2004 the residents voted to separate from the city and on January 1, 2006, the municipality was reinstated.
Demographics
Population trend:
Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 481 (total dwellings: 1020)
Mother tongue: